Scenes from the Dance Team Gala

 

And just like that another dance team year has come to an end! Looking forward to seeing what Grace's sfinal year (enior year 😢 ) brings for her, and if Emma will make her return to competive dance too! xo

In Which The Dance Team Celebrates

 

It was an absolutely beautiful evening to gather at the Portuguese Club to celebrate this unprecedented and incredible year, in general, but dance specifically! This entire team rose to the challenge of dancing during a global pandemic, with all sorts of restrictions and precautions in place and they more than succeeded! In fact, this was their best year ever! We are so grateful to Ms. Lauri and the Center Stage staff and coaches for all they did to keep the studio going and the girls dancing! Getting a chance to come together and celebrate these girls and their hard work and determination (and get dressed up to do it!) was the perfect ending to an incredible year! Next up: recital! xo

Sunday Night At The Gala

These two have danced together since they were in kindergarten! I love their friendship and I love that they were on the same team this year! Here's to many more years of dance and friendship! 

Such a sweet trio. 

Emma and Sydney. And yes, Emma is wearing my shoes! 

 Grace was giving the "love of dance" award. 

Emma was given the "most flexible" award. 

My plate of yummy dessert! 

Junior team picture. 

Grace is wearing her half-soles that were still in my bag from their performance at church that morning.

Another wonderful dance team gala and another perfect ending to a fun filled year of competitive dance! Love our dance family! xo

Weekending

Our weekend began with a wonderful night at the dance team gala! 

It was a wonderul way to end a truly magnificent comp season! 

Followed by the royal wedding the next day. 

Scones, jam and clotted cream have become a new favorite treat!

My guess is that this may be assembled "wrong". We'll have to do a little more research (and scone making) to perfect our technique! 

Everything about this royal wedding was truly lovely. I was teary throughout, and we truly adored each and every moment. From the sweet looks the now Duke and Duchess would give each other to the songs that were sung (especially Stand by Me by the Kingdom Choir) and the beautifully inspirational sermon by Bishop Michael Curry. No stone was left unturned. No detail was left unconsidered. It was truly a wedding to remember and we wish them a lifetime of love and happiness! 

Yesterday the youth group lead worship at church. They did such a wonderful job! Since it was Pentecost Sunday (the birthday of the church) they decided that cake was needed! After all, what's a birthday celebration without cake (and balloons and the birthday song)?! 

 We ended our weekend at the spring skating show here in town. They adored getting to see Abigail, one of their dearest friends, in the winter show and were so excited to be invited to attend the spring show! All the skaters did a wonderful job! It was the perfect ending to a lovely weekend! xo

At The Gala

Saturday night we all got dressed up to attend the dance team gala! We had heard this was quite the fabulous evening, but we had no idea truly how fabulous until we arrived! First up, making sure we got a picture of the minis together before the night got away from us. 

After dinner, it was time for the awards portion of the evening. Lauri, Cindy and Michael each took turns talking about each member of the teams that they coach. Each girl was given a special award that spoke directly to what her coach saw in her over the course of this past year. Grace's award was the beautiful ballerina award. "This dancer was very appropriately named. She is very grateful and a beautiful dancer and because of that I gave the "Beautiful Ballerina" award to Grace Tscherne!" 

Along with the award, each girl was also given a framed copy of the team picture, 

as well as a trophy. 

The minis were super excited to give Miss Lauri their thank-you gift.

All forty-three members of the 2016-2017 Center Stage Dance Team. 

After everyone had raided the amazing dessert table, each team performed their comp dances for the crowd. First up: the minis!  And though I know we'll see them all dance these dances again at the recital next month, there was something wonderful about watching each group get on that dance floor Saturday night. 

The gala was definitely the perfect way to end our first year as a dance team family! It was so wonderful to be able to come together and honor the hard work and dedication of each dancer, as well as their incredible coaches. The friendships that we all made, and the confidence and skills that Grace gained over the course of this year, truly are the cherries on top of the sundae that is the CSDS dance team program!

Thank you, Lauri, for encouraging Grace to try out for the dance team (almost) one year ago. Watching her grow as a dancer, and in confidence in so many other areas too, has been such a gift! Thank you for all that you did for each member of the mini team. Our only regret is that the year flew by way too fast! xo